The provision of a filtering device in a kitchen faucet has been achieved by means of different constructive arrangements which present, in common, the fact that the flow of filtered water is obtained through a filtering device hydraulically coupled to the body of the faucet, in the form of an external accessory, aesthetically dissociated from the design of the faucet and which presents a control cock with its own wheel and independent from the wheel of the faucet cock.
In these known constructive solutions, the filtering device is an element independent from the faucet, being coupled thereto only to use it as an element of structural support and water supply, from the same terminal of the hydraulic network.
Considering said prior art solutions, it can be observed that they rarely result in an aesthetically agreeable assembly, occupying a reduced space in the region where the faucet is installed in the kitchen sinks, jeopardizing the original design of the faucet. Moreover, these solutions, which use the filtering device externally aggregated to the faucet body, require the use of a large, number of components, increasing the cost of the product, which does not add benefits to the aesthetic of the assembly, neither facilitates the operation for the user.
As a function of the inconveniences cited above, it was proposed the faucet described and illustrated in the Brazilian patent application PI 0903624-5, of the same applicant, presenting a compact construction, which is aesthetically defined by the design of the faucet, and which allows the user to obtain, in movable and independent spouts, flows of service water and of filtered water, which are controlled, in an independent and alternative manner, through a single cock coupled to the faucet body.
In spite of the advantages of said prior art construction, it still presents some limitations related to the fact of not allowing the controlled mixture of the cold and hot water flows, and neither the simultaneous use of the spouts of service water and filtered water.
Besides the limitation mentioned above, the construction of the faucet, provided with a filter of said prior art patent application, requires the user to take the control cock to the closed position, before removing the filter to be replaced. In case the user forgets to close the cock, the removal of the filter will provoke the free and uncontrolled discharge of the flow of cold water from the hydraulic network in which the faucet is installed. In situations of high pressure in the hydraulic network, the disassembly of the filter, with the cock of the faucet being open, may cause large material damages by flooding the surrounding environment or by the filter cartridge being violently expelled from its housing in the faucet body.